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Nintendo's DS Classroom now DSi-only
Using the DS as an educational tool is nothing new in Japan. It's been a tour guide, an English teacher and even a boozing instructor. Lately the focus has been on DS Classroom, a program from Nintendo and Sharp System Products announced back in June that aims to let Japanese teachers dish out lessons and the like to students' DSes. Initially, it was planned to work with the original DS, the Lite and DSi, but, according to Andriasang, that's no longer the case.The new educational aid will only work with the DSi now, as Nintendo has announced it's doing away with support for the older Nintendo handhelds. We would be worried for the students over there that don't have a DSi, but, then again, we're pretty sure those kids are few and far between.
Nintendo reveals specialized DS software for classrooms
Japanese schools have integrated the Nintendo DS into their curricula before, but now there is a program specifically designed for that use. Demonstrating its commitment to make the DS a multifunctional lifestyle device, Nintendo announced a new educational program being made in collaboration with Sharp System Products. The DS Kyoushitsu ("DS Classroom") program allows a teacher to use a PC to interface over local wireless with up to 50 DS systems in a classroom. The system can be used for problem sets, with the answers checked automatically and sent to the teacher's PC, surveys, tests, and other multiple-choice activities. In addition, non-multiple-choice questions can be answered by writing or drawing on the DS's touch screen, with screen images sent to the teacher. The program can be used with any DS, so presumably it's up to schools whether or not they need to provide hardware. We're pretty sure Japanese school kids have easy access to DS systems already.[Via Andriasang]
